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When I knew Pete Ellis, he was state editor of the daily newspaper in Charlotte, NC. Later he published his own weekly newspaper, the Mecklenburg Times, a small publication carrying court records and legal advertisements. His wit was well known in the publishing community. He also grew so many tomatoes each year his friends were loaded with them. During later years, I worked with Pete’s widow, Doris, who took over management of the paper. Doris had her apartment almost like a museum for Pete, his memorabilia, clippings and photos. First time I visited her, she pointed to the closet and said she had Pete in there. I almost passed out from the shock, thinking Pete’s mummified body might be behind the door. She had his ashes in a metal box. But Pete was most proud of his work during World War II. He worked the rewrite desk for United Press in New York. His job was to take the battlefield dispatches from a correspondent and polish them up for release over the wire service that went to papers across the country. That correspondent was a young man named Walter Cronkite. In the early Fifties, Douglas Edwards was the news anchorman for CBS network news. He had a 15-minute broadcast sponsored by the Esso oil company. For the sake of the younger generation who never heard of Esso, that was before it became Humble for a brief time and then Exxon. Edwards was a blank faced man who delivered the news in a dull monotone. He could describe an international tragedy and never crack a frown. Network news was growing up. Chet Huntley and David Brinkley became stars with the Huntley-Brinkley report for NBC. Huntley was in New York and Brinkley was in Washington. CBS gave the anchor job to a man who challenged and excelled everyone in the field. Walter Cronkite came into his own, and for years was the epitome of credibility. A survey said he was the most trusted man in America. He had that delivery with emphasis where it should be. Viewers knew he felt what he was saying and controlled it. They day he reported the assassination of President Jack Kennedy there was a tear in his eye and a tremor in his voice. But he gave the news impartially and accurately. President Lyndon Johnson was pursuing the war in Vietnam and considering reelection to a second full term. Then Walter Cronkite broadcast the grim side of the war and looked at the impossibility of a victory. Johnson knew the war should not be pursued to more deaths and that his reelection was doomed. Uncle Walter was America’s conscience. During that time, CBS had a young superstar on the Vietnam scene, giving battlefield reports. Dan Rather was filled with ambition. CBS cooked up a rule that forced retirement would be imposed. Rather had shaken the network by suggesting he might go to another network. CBS didn’t want to lose him. It was the day of the pretty boys at the news desk. Uncle Walter was put out to pasture. And television lost its main champion. Huntley died and Brinkley went to a much followed Sunday news talk program. Uncle Walter was on camera occasionally, mainly interviewed for his opinions and memories. Rather became the egotist of network news. When an international tennis match delayed the start of his news broadcast, he walked off in a tantrum. Later he tried to get tough with President George H.B.Bush and the president reminded Rather of his fit of temper. Maybe Rather had a vendetta against the Bush family. Maybe he was so anxious for a scoop that he resorted to yellow journalism made famous by William Randolph Hearts when he provoked America into the Spanish American War. But any first year journalism student wouldn’t have considered attacking President Bush’s National Guard service with obviously flawed documents. If Rather thought it a story, all he had to do was balance it. Present it to the president and his advisors for confirmation or denial. Show the “evidence” completely. Instead, he adamantly claimed them to be fact, defying the overwhelming testimony to the contrary. Dan Rather not only smeared himself. He shook the reliability of all news reporting, that something so flagrant could slip through the system and reach national proportions. You can bet this wouldn’t have happened when Walter Cronkite was at the helm. Where are you when we need you, Uncle Walter.
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